By the age of five, Dark had already made significant progress. His physical growth was typical for a child his age, but his mental development was far beyond what anyone could imagine. His parents and tutors believed him to be a prodigy, a gifted child with an extraordinary aptitude for magic. But Dark knew the truth, his mind was the product of years of experience, and magic, to him, was nothing more than a complex system waiting to be mastered.
He spent hours each day in the family's library, studying ancient tomes filled with spells and incantations. Most mages spent years learning even the most basic spells, carefully memorizing the words and gestures required to cast them. But to Dark, it all seemed so inefficient.
These incantations are just a means of control, Dark thought as he flipped through the pages of a thick tome on elemental magic. The book described a spell that could summon fire, but the process was long and complicated, first, the mage had to chant a specific incantation, then they had to perform a series of gestures to shape the mana.
Dark frowned. This can be simplified.
He had already begun experimenting in secret. While his parents and tutors taught him the traditional way to control magic, Dark had been testing his own methods. He had quickly realized that the incantations were unnecessary. Magic responded to will, if the mage had enough control over mana, the spells could be cast without a single word.
Sitting alone in his room one evening, Dark decided to test his theory further. He held out his hand, palm facing upward, and focused on the air around him. He could feel the mana, swirling just beneath the surface of reality, waiting to be shaped.
Fire, he commanded silently, his mind reaching out to the mana.
A small flame flickered to life in his palm, warm and steady.
Dark smiled, pleased with the result. No words, no gestures, just control.
He extinguished the flame and leaned back in his chair, his mind already racing with new possibilities. If he could control mana without incantations, then the traditional way of teaching magic was obsolete. There was no need for long, drawn-out spells or complex gestures. Magic, like any system, could be optimized.
There has to be more, Dark thought, his gaze shifting to the rows of books lining the library walls. He had mastered the basics, but there was still so much he didn't know, so much power that lay beyond the reach of ordinary mages.
Dark stood up and crossed the room, his fingers trailing over the spines of the books as he searched for the one he needed. He had heard whispers of ancient magic, spells so powerful they could bend the fabric of reality itself. But those spells were forbidden, locked away in the deepest vaults of magical knowledge, out of reach for any ordinary mage.
But I'm not ordinary, Dark thought, his hand pausing on a thick, leather-bound tome. The title, etched in gold, read The Fundamentals of Mana Manipulation. It was a dense and advanced book, one that most students wouldn't touch until years into their magical education. Dark had already skimmed through it before, but tonight, he intended to go deeper.
He carried the book to a nearby table and opened it to a section he hadn't fully explored yet, The Flow of Mana in Elemental Magic. His eyes scanned the text quickly, absorbing the information as if it were second nature.
The book explained how mana flowed through different elements, fire, water, earth, and air. Each element had its own unique structure, and the spells used to manipulate them required specific incantations to align the mana properly. For fire, the mage had to summon heat and aggression, forcing the mana into a volatile state. For water, the mage needed to guide the mana like a gentle stream, letting it flow with precision.
This is too complicated, Dark thought, his fingers drumming against the page. There's no need for these incantations if I can command the mana directly.
He closed the book, pushing it aside, and instead turned his focus inward. He had already proven that he could control mana without incantations or gestures. The flame he had conjured earlier was proof of that. But fire was just the beginning. If he could manipulate fire, he could manipulate the other elements too.
Dark stood up and walked over to the small fountain that sat in the corner of the room. The water trickled down from a stone basin, sparkling in the dim light. He knelt beside it, his eyes fixed on the gentle ripples.
Let's see if I can control you too, he thought, his hand hovering over the surface of the water.
He focused, reaching out with his mind to the mana that flowed through the water. It was different from fire, calmer, more fluid. But it was still mana, and Dark had already learned how to manipulate that energy. He just needed to adjust his approach.
Flow.
The water rippled in response to his command, the surface quivering slightly. Dark frowned, narrowing his focus. He had felt the mana react, but it wasn't enough. The command had been too weak, too unfocused. He needed to be more precise.
Flow.
This time, the water rose from the fountain in a smooth arc, hovering in mid-air for a moment before splashing back down. Dark watched, satisfaction blooming in his chest.
I can do this with all the elements, he realized, standing up and moving toward the window. He pushed it open, letting the cool night breeze sweep into the room. The air, like the fire and water before it, was filled with mana, raw, untapped power that just needed the right command to shape it.
Dark stretched out his hand, palm up, and focused on the breeze. The mana in the air was light, elusive, but Dark could feel it, he could grasp it.
Gather.
The wind swirled around him, gentle at first, then stronger as Dark pulled the mana toward him. The curtains billowed, the pages of the books on the table fluttered, and for a moment, the room was filled with the soft sound of rushing air. Dark smiled, feeling the power thrumming through his fingers.
This is what they call magic? he thought, the faintest hint of amusement creeping into his mind. It's just a system, a code that can be rewritten.
He released his control, allowing the wind to die down and the room to return to stillness. His heart was pounding, not from exertion, but from excitement. The more he experimented, the more he understood. Magic wasn't some mystical force that required years of study to control. It was just like programming, a series of inputs and outputs that responded to the right commands.
Dark glanced back at the books lining the shelves of the library. They were filled with spells and incantations that mages had been using for centuries, but Dark knew that he was already on the path to something greater. He wasn't content with simply casting spells. He wanted to rewrite the very rules of magic.
But there was still more to learn. The basic elements, fire, water, earth, and air, were easy enough to manipulate. But what about time? Space? Reality itself? Those were the forces that truly interested Dark, and he was determined to master them.
I need to go deeper, he thought, his gaze settling on a locked cabinet in the far corner of the library. His father had kept certain books hidden away, books that were deemed too dangerous for even advanced mages. Dark had seen the cabinet before, but he hadn't attempted to open it.
Until now.
He crossed the room in a few quick strides, his heart beating faster with anticipation. The lock on the cabinet was old, enchanted with protective wards, but Dark had already learned enough about magic to bypass them. He reached out, his fingers brushing against the lock, and with a whispered command, the wards dissolved.
The cabinet door swung open with a soft creak, revealing a collection of ancient tomes, each one more worn and fragile than the last. Dark's eyes scanned the titles, his pulse quickening as he recognized the symbols etched into the covers. These were the books that contained the magic he sought, the magic that could alter the very fabric of reality.
He pulled one of the books from the shelf and opened it. The pages were brittle, the text written in an old, forgotten language that most mages wouldn't be able to read. But Dark understood it. The symbols, the diagrams, they were all pieces of a puzzle, a system that he was beginning to comprehend.
This is what I've been looking for, he thought, his fingers tracing the arcane symbols on the page. The book described spells that could bend time, reshape space, and even manipulate life and death. It was dangerous magic, forbidden for a reason. But to Dark, it was the key to unlocking true power.
He closed the book and tucked it under his arm. He would study it in secret, just as he had with the other spells. He was already far beyond what his tutors could teach him, and soon, he would surpass even the most powerful mages in this world.
This is only the beginning.
With the forbidden tome in hand, Dark left the library, the weight of his discovery pressing down on him like a cloak of destiny. He was no longer a child, and no longer bound by the limitations of those around him. He was on the path to something far greater, a path that would lead him to master the very forces that shaped this world.
I'll rewrite the rules of magic, he thought, his heart steady with resolve. And when I'm done, this world will be mine to command.